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Once called "the great American nickelodean," the Saturday Evening Post has, with its great diversity of offerings, amused and informed Americans longer than any other general magazine. Begun Aug. 4, 1821, with Thomas Cottrell Clarke as editor, this weekly 4-page paper had five columns per page, and contained news, short articles by the editor, and literary miscellany, much of it selected. All political controversy was avoided. In the fall of 1822 a "Dramatic Summary, " which reviews plays mainly at Philadelphia theaters, was begun. The content of the paper gradually improved, and its five columns increased to six. The front page of a typical number of the Post in 1825 contained a column and a half of poetry, some tales, a section of household hints, and a department of periodical essays. On the second page were domestic and foreign news items and miscellaneous feature material, while the third and fourth pages contained nonpolitical editorials, news, advertisements, death and marriage notices, and more poetry. In 1826 Clarke was replaced by Morton McMichael. In 1828 Samuel C. Atkinson became the sole publisher, with Benjamin Mathias as his editor, and thus began the second phase of the Post's history. Cf. American periodicals, 1741-1900.